Baltimore area school officials ensure safety to parents, students

Parents express concern after deadly shooting at Connecticut school

Baltimore area school officials are ensuring parents of safety on school grounds following the deadly shooting at a Connecticut school.

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Baltimore area school officials ensure safety to parents, students

Parents express concern after deadly shooting at Connecticut school

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Updated: 11:04 AM EST Dec 18, 2012

Schools across the country, including those in and around Baltimore, are taking extra time to make sure everyone feels secure on school grounds after Friday's incident at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.Anne Arundel County Superintendent Kevin Maxwell, Board President Andrew Pruski and school leaders released a statement on the tragedy."The horrific mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school has stoked fear in the hearts of every parent, child, teacher, and school system employee. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved."We also want to assure you that our school system, like those across our state, has a network of security procedures and practices in place to help keep our children and our employees safe."Students arriving to schools all over the area were greeted by a lot more faces on Monday, from school counselors to police officers.In Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties, as well as Baltimore City, vigilance was the subject of the day -- a tough subject for all."I think any parent today, it's hard to think about sending your kids (to school) when all this is happening," parent Alicia Barger said."He felt safe going to school today but we're aware that a problem could happen anywhere, anytime," parent Laura Davis said."It was scary. I just had to let their normal day and routine happen," parent Michelle Barnes said.School superintendents communicated with their principals over the weekend about making sure security procedures are in place and followed and that emergency drills take occur on schedule. Both Anne Arundel and Baltimore County schools are using robocalls to keep parents informed and ensure them they are on top of safety.Baltimore County police Chief James Johnson said Monday that it's time to finally do something about gun violence. Johnson is the chairman of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence."We, like the rest of the nation, are deeply troubled by the horrific shootings in Newtown, Conn. We must do more to prevent tragedies like this involving firearms, which are happening all too frequently across our nation," Johnson said. "Gun violence is a public health epidemic. It has impacted each and every one of us, and it's time to act. There should be no more excuses."Johnson and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz are calling for background checks on all gun purchasers. They also want to see an end to the sale of full-assault and assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. Johnson also made a plea to gun owners to make sure their weapons are properly secured.As for parents, the weekend was spent talking and hugging their kids close."We ended up reiterating how much they are loved, how much they're thought about, just really being cognizant of the time spent with them now," parent James Gause Jr. said. Read his full statement here.

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"The horrific mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school has stoked fear in the hearts of every parent, child, teacher, and school system employee. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved.

"We also want to assure you that our school system, like those across our state, has a network of security procedures and practices in place to help keep our children and our employees safe."

Students arriving to schools all over the area were greeted by a lot more faces on Monday, from school counselors to police officers.

In Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties, as well as Baltimore City, vigilance was the subject of the day -- a tough subject for all.

"It was scary. I just had to let their normal day and routine happen," parent Michelle Barnes said.

School superintendents communicated with their principals over the weekend about making sure security procedures are in place and followed and that emergency drills take occur on schedule. Both Anne Arundel and Baltimore County schools are using robocalls to keep parents informed and ensure them they are on top of safety.

Baltimore County police Chief James Johnson said Monday that it's time to finally do something about gun violence. Johnson is the chairman of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence.

"We, like the rest of the nation, are deeply troubled by the horrific shootings in Newtown, Conn. We must do more to prevent tragedies like this involving firearms, which are happening all too frequently across our nation," Johnson said. "Gun violence is a public health epidemic. It has impacted each and every one of us, and it's time to act. There should be no more excuses."

Johnson and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz are calling for background checks on all gun purchasers. They also want to see an end to the sale of full-assault and assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. Johnson also made a plea to gun owners to make sure their weapons are properly secured.

As for parents, the weekend was spent talking and hugging their kids close.

"We ended up reiterating how much they are loved, how much they're thought about, just really being cognizant of the time spent with them now," parent James Gause Jr. said.